pronouncing consonant clusters
Changed. Desks. World. Boxed. These words are tongue twisters for many English language learners, because they end in consonant clusters. Consonant clusters are two or more consonant sounds that occur together in a syllable. They are difficult for many and a typical pronunciation error.
What Are Consonant Clusters?
In English, pronunciation goes by sounds, and not by spelling. Clusters are made of two or more consonant sounds together, not letters. For example, the word box ends in one consonant letter but two consonant sounds /ks/.
Where do consonant clusters occur?
Consonant clusters can occur in any syllable. Consonant clusters that are at the beginning of a word are usually easier for most speakers than those at the end of a word. In English, the longest possible cluster at the start of a word has 3 sounds, as in split. The longest possible end cluster is 4 sounds, as in twelfths, bursts and glimpsed.
What types are the most difficult and for whom?
Most speakers will have different levels of difficulty depending on the length, position, and type of consonant cluster. They are easier to pronounce for speakers who have them in their native language. German and Russian contain consonant clusters while Japanese and Spanish do not. A Japanese speaker may unconsciously add an extra vowel as in desk-u, or change-ee. For almost all English language learners, combinations of r, l, and w are also difficult, such as world, rarely, and swirl
Practice
Below is a list of words that have clusters at both the beginning and end of the word. You can practice listening to their pronunciation at http://www.thefreedictionary.com/, by typing in the word you want to hear.
Practice listening for them in sentences in your daily conversations as well. Often the end of the cluster is linked to the next word in the sentence.
Practice:
Words that end in –ed have 2 possible cluster endings: with either /d/ or /t/ as the final sound.
Boxed /kst/
bounced /nst/
grasped /spt/
Asked /skt/
blinked /nkt/
crunched /ncht/
Splurged /rgd/
Changed /ngd/
Arranged /ngd/
Formed /rmd/
Practice other consonant clusters
Trunks Fifths
Clocks Desks
Crisps Squints
Brings Shrinks
Girl Prompts
Curls Twists
Friends Shelves
First Sixths
